Social Democratic Party (Romania)
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The Social Democratic Party of Romania (Partidul Social Democrat or PSD) is a major political party of Romania. It is currently in opposition, as the Justice and Truth alliance, made up of the Liberals and Democrats, is in government. The leader of the PSD is Mircea Geoană, elected in 21 April 2005.
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History
In April 1992, the struggle for power inside the National Salvation Front (FSN) between the more hard-line group led by Ion Iliescu and the more reformist group led by Petre Roman resulted in the Iliescu group withdrawing from FSN and founding Frontul Democrat al Salvării Naţionale (FDSN -- Democratic National Salvation Front), which would later become the present-day PSD.
FDSN won the 1992 elections and went on to govern Romania until 1996. In July 1993 they took the name Party of Social Democracy in Romania (PDSR - Partidul Democraţiei Sociale din Romānia). From 1993 to 1995 they became infamous for governing in coalition with three extremist parties - the right-wing Romanian National Unity Party (PUNR) and Greater Romania Party (PRM), and the left-wing Socialist Party of Labour. They lost the 1996 election to the Romanian Democratic Convention.
In November 2000 they were back in power, this time in a coalition named the Social Democratic Pole of Romania with the Romanian Social Democratic Party (PSDR) and the Romanian Humanist Party (PUR). PSDR merged with PDSR in January 2001, and the resulting party took its present name, PSD.
In November 2004, Adrian Năstase, the PSD candidate, won the first round of the presidential elections but did not have a majority and had to go to a second round of voting, which he lost to Traian Băsescu of the Justice and Truth alliance, who is therefore the current president. In the legislative elections of 2004, the PSD gained the largest share of the vote but because it did not have a majority, all the other major parties formed the Justice and Truth alliance, which managed to gain a parliamentary majority and is currently in government, consigning the PSD to opposition.
As of 2005, Mircea Geoană is leader of the party.
Criticism and allegations
PSD has been often criticised for harbouring former Communist officials and for attempting to control the Romanian mass media.
Closely guarded text transcripts of PSD meetings have surfaced on an anonymous Web site just before the 2004 Romanian presidential election. Năstase and his ministers are shown talking about political involvement in corruption trials of the government's members, or involvement in suppressing "disobedient" media. Năstase stated that the transcripts were fake, but several party members, including Foreign Minister and PM candidate Mircea Geoană, said they are indeed genuine.
See also
External links
- Official website (http://www.psd.ro)
- Transcripts of PSD meetings (http://www.istorie.info)
- Geoana admitted PSD stenograms true (http://www.ziua.net/display.php?id=33559&data=2004-12-01)
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